HILA 4501 (1)

Seminar in Latin American History

"United States-Latin American Relations"

This research seminar examines the history of Latin America-U.S. relations. We will ask basic questions about the logic of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. What drives U.S. foreign policy in the region? Moral, ethical, or religious concerns? Economics? National security imperatives? Can U.S. actions in Latin America be understood as imperialism or "neocolonialism?" What was the impact of the Cold War on Latin America? What has been the impact of the more recent U.S.-led “drug wars?” We will also ask questions related to social and cultural history, focusing on places of encounter between Latin Americans and North Americans, and the paths of migration that lead northward into cities, towns, and rural districts throughout the United States. The second half of the semester students will write 20-page research papers based on original research in primary sources.

HILA 2001

Colonial Latin America

This class is an introduction to the history of Latin America from the pre-conquest period to independence. The class covers the societies and states of the Americas and the Iberian peninsula before 1492, the conquest of the Americas, the formation of the Spanish and Portuguese imperial systems, colonial societies and economies, the African slave trade and slavery in the Americas, the wars for independence, and the legacies of colonialism in Latin America. Requirements for the class include two mid-term exams and one final exam. Exams will be short-essay format.

HIUS 4501 (2)

Seminar in United States History

"James Madison and the Making of the United States"

The seminar will be devoted to an intensive investigation of the role of James Madison in the formation and early development of the American republic (1770s to the 1830s). Particular attention will be paid the relationship between thought and action in Madison’s career through such topics as constitutionalism, politics, foreign policy, slavery, individual rights and civil liberties. For the meetings of the class students will be required to read relevant selections of The Papers of James Madison: Digital Edition in conjunction with a wide range of historical and other commentaries on the same issues, including some decisions of the Supreme Court. The written requirement for the class is the submission of a substantial research paper (20-25 pp.), based on the digital edition of Madison’s papers and supplemented with appropriate secondary sources. Students will be referred to the best and most recent historical scholarship on the various aspects of Madison’s public life.

HIUS 3559 (1)

New Course in United States History

"From Redlines to Subprime: Race and Real Estate in the United States"

This course examines the dynamic relationship between real estate, racial segregation, wealth, and poverty in American cities and suburbs, with an emphasis on the period from the New Deal to the present. We will look at how the quest for homeownership in a capitalist society shaped ideas of race and belonging, influenced Americans’ political ideologies and material interests, and impacted movements for civil rights and economic justice. Topics include: the formation of Federal housing policies and programs under the New Deal; real estate industry practices in the age of suburbanization and “white flight”; automobility, mass transit, and the politics of transportation; ghettoization, urban renewal, and public housing; property rights and taxpayers’ movements; homeowners’ associations, gated communities, and the rise of private governance; land development and black land loss in the modern South; the diversification of suburbs and gentrification of cities in recent decades; predatory lending and the Great Recession in urban minority communities. Students will learn to interpret a variety of primary sources, including land deeds and covenants, tax records, maps, financial statements, contracts, and industry trade publications, among others. Class meetings will alternate between lectures, tutorials, and discussions of weekly reading assignments. Students will complete 3 topical essays and a final research project.

HIUS 3652

African American History, 1865-Present

This course examines the black experience in America from emancipation to the present. We will study African Americans’ long struggle for freedom and equality, and learn about their contributions to and influence on America’s social, political, and economic development. We will also study the history of race and racism, explore how its meaning and practice has changed over time, and how it shaped—and continues to shape—the lives of all persons in America. Central to this course is the idea that African American history is American history, and that the American experience cannot be understood apart from the struggles and triumphs of African Americans. Course topics include: emancipation and Reconstruction; the age of Jim Crow; the Great Migration and the New Negro; the civil rights and Black Power movements; mass incarceration; and struggles for justice and equality in the present. In addition to readings from assigned books, students will analyze and interpret a variety of primary sources, including film, music, and visual art. Class meetings will alternate between lectures and discussions. Assignments will include a midterm, a final exam, two topical essays, and short responses to weekly readings.

HIUS 7559 (1)

New Course in United States History

"Legal History of the 1960s"

Fifty years after the 1960s, Americans still debate what and how much changed during the era, as well as whether what changed was good for the United States or bad for it. This course will explore what was at stake in the legal, social, political, cultural, and intellectual developments of the "long 1960s"—roughly from the mid-1950s until the mid-1970s. Topics covered will include the legal history of the African American and other civil rights movements; free speech and political protest; the Vietnam War and the antiwar movement; the student movement and the New Left; Second Wave Feminism, the sexual revolution, and the gay rights movement; the Warren Court criminal procedure revolution; Black Power and radical movements; poverty, alcoholism, and skid row; hippies and the counterculture; and the rise of the New Right. Grades will be based on weekly 1-2-page papers responding to the readings and on class participation.

HIEU 5021

Greece in the Fifth Century

This course examines the political, military, and social history of Greece from the end of the Persian Wars (479 BC) to the end of the Peloponnesian War (404 BC). This is the age of the creation of Athenian democracy and Athenian Empire, as well as of the growing tensions with Sparta that eventually resulted in the Peloponnesian War. Understanding these developments is crucial to understanding all Greek history. This class will proceed by discussion, including discussion of five five-page papers written by each student (due variously throughout the term) distributed before the class in which they will be discussed. There will also be two exercises (on working with ancient evidence) and a final exam.

Undergraduates are permitted to take this class as a graduate class or for 4511 credit; in the latter case they would write four rather than five papers but otherwise fulfill the stated requirements of the course.

Reading is substantial, averaging approximately 200 pages/week, and will be drawn from the following:

HIEU 4511 (1)

Colloquium in Pre-1700 European History

"Greece in the Fifth Century"

This course examines the political, military, and social history of Greece from the end of the Persian Wars (479 BC) to the end of the Peloponnesian War (404 BC). This is the age of the creation of Athenian democracy and Athenian Empire, as well as of the growing tensions with Sparta that eventually resulted in the Peloponnesian War. Understanding these developments is crucial to understanding all Greek history. This class will proceed by discussion, including discussion of five five-page papers written by each student (due variously throughout the term) distributed before the class in which they will be discussed. There will also be two exercises (on working with ancient evidence) and a final exam.

Undergraduates are permitted to take this class as a graduate class (HIEU 5021) orfor4511 credit; in the latter case they would write four rather than five papers but otherwise fulfill the stated requirements of the course. This course fulfills the histoyr colloquium and second writing requirements.

Reading is substantial, averaging approximately 200 pages/week, and will be drawn from the following:

HIEU 4502 (1)

Colloquium in Pre-1700 European History

Greece in the Fifth Century

This course examines the political, military, and social history of Greece from the end of the Persian Wars (479 BC) to the end of the Peloponnesian War (404 BC). This is the age of the creation of Athenian democracy and Athenian Empire, as well as of the growing tensions with Sparta that eventually resulted in the Peloponnesian War. Understanding these developments is crucial to understanding all Greek history. This class will proceed by discussion, including discussion of five five-page papers written by each student (due variously throughout the term) distributed before the class in which they will be discussed. There will also be two exercises (on working with ancient evidence) and a final exam.

Undergraduates are permitted to take this class as a graduate class or for 4511 credit; in the latter case they would write four rather than five papers but otherwise fulfill the stated requirements of the course.

Reading is substantial, averaging approximately 200 pages/week, and will be drawn from the following: